I could stand here till morning and relate experiences I have had in my walk of faith, many of which were miracles wrought by God without any human con- tact and which therefore proved the truth of this method. At first I had to learn through simple lessons until He could trust me with those more advanced.
When He called me to live by faith, I was a teacher in the public schools, but God said,
“You cannot do that any more. From this hour I want you to sever every contract with the world and trust Me wholly for every penny you get.”
And for many years I have walked in naked faith, without a salary. Let me say that I could not be where I am if God had not disciplined me most terrifically. He had to school me in this matter of faith, and I found that I could not get anywhere by following the usual methods.
I discovered that if there was to be any thing forthcoming through faith, I had to know what God was doing, what particular pattern He was following. I say it not to boast, but in those first years, when I had to trust the Lord for every dollar, it pleased Him to let thousands of dollars pass through my hands, for me to dispose of, to give, and to bless. It was then that I learned the first lessons in faith; learned to believe the simple word which God speaks, as well as to lay hold of it, and walk under the power of it.
When God first called me out, He stripped me of everything I had. I had means; I had folks who could help me. I had a sister who could have bought half of Chicago, but God never permitted her or any of the others to help me. I taught for thirteen years in a Bible school without receiving one penny in salary; thirteen years of grinding, drilling and grilling without one love offering. And yet people say. “How can you . teach with such authority?” Because I feel the power of it all through my being. It is a part of my makeup, and I believe I have a right to speak on something which the Lord has made a part of my very life. After thirteen years of hard grilling I learned some simple principles of faith.
As an illustration of this truth and of the process of faith, I shall relate one of the first experiences God gave me to teach me and help me to grow in the life of faith. When He first called me to live this life of trust and absolute dependence upon Him, He took from me all human support and closed my eyes to the things seen, showing me that I had to trust Him, not only for the things I needed but for divine intimations, as I call them, or directions concerning His will. The lessons at first were simple and yet they always rested upon the basic principles and laws which operate in more severe tests and harder lessons.